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DirecTv Or Cable

Direct TV or Cable

Which is the better deal, Direct TV or Cable? Consider costs, number of channels, quality of reception, customer service, uptime, etc.

Cable DirecTv

I do not have neither, but if I could afford it I think I would go with Direct TV as they seem to be more dependable and cheaper in the long run.

DirecTv Or Cable Sports & Fashion Music Movies

I have DishNetwork and I love it! I found that a good installer is priceless, my connection almost never goes out. It has to rain very very hard to lose my signal. To match, its almost 30 dollars cheaper than cable in my area.

Cable DirecTv

Here is another example of a topic that I am bias about. Both have their advantages and disadvantages by all means. I am currently with a friend of mine, building a cable system. I truly believe that if it is done correctly a local cable provider is always better than a dish.

Cable TV:
Rain fade is not an issue
programming can (at the providers choice) be as customized as anyone could want it
Cost of service for Cable TV can potentially be much cheaper than dish (provider choice)

The biggest problem for cable providers in most areas to cause them to be more expensive than a dish is pole leasing. For every telephone pole that they connect their cable wire to they have to pay a royalty of anywhere from 4$ - 14$ to the utility company that owns the pole. (per year charge) If a cable provider chose to bury their cable underground the monthly overhead for operation is cut in half. Trouble found is most systems are on the poles. Are there channels that are not on your current system that you would like to be there? Chances are there are a lot of channels you would love to watch that you have never heard of because there hasn't been anyone wanting to offer it as a channel. Take a look at Lyngsat, this is a list of every transponder on every satellite and the global position to receive it. There are so many possible channels out there. Cable providers have the option, if a channel is requested or wanted, they can easily add it as a preview to check ratings to see if it would be something worth putting onto their system. But there again, it is completely up to the operator of the cable system. Direct TV does not have this option since they have their own transponders to transmit to the dish that you have in your yard.

Cable DirecTv

Bwren, being an expert in the business I knew you would come here eventually. I never knew Cable could offer more channels, for me it seems like there is always the routine ones that everyone wants to see. The only thing that would ever make me take cable besides price reduction is high speed access as well. Unfortunately, I can only go by what I have seen of the local Cable provider. They are expensive, many complain about poor service and lastly, if you want high speed they charge you a separate fee for that! Talk about crummy service, but I have never heard anyone say anything bad about Direct TV. Maybe in the Caribbean it is the way to go. For the US it is a different story since there are so many offerings, sadly it is not that way here.

DirecTv Or Cable

Just a shout back JB, Cable as you mention can offer high speed access, but did you know we are at the age that we can now offer telephone access with unlimited (free) long distance? It is a VOIP (Voice over IP) technology and it is rapidly growing here in the states. With the proper motivation, a cable operator could now offer cable tv, digital HDTV Stereo cable, high speed internet and telephone service. If you really want to get fancy, they could also offer a Wi-Fi access with relatively little charge above your standard internet. They already have the cables run to tie into their antennas as well as power lines they can use if they are on the poll to power them. There is so much to offer for a cable provider there is just so few people that appreciate the complex possibilities that they can offer so they choose not to.

DirecTv Cable

For me personally, I prefer Cable over Dish TV. Dish networks always say it would take extreme weather conditions to lose a signal, but I live in the MidWest, where extreme conditions can occur. We have a lot of problems here in Minnesota with high winds, and I have heard from a lot of coworkers who have dishes that they have had problems during a bad storm. Yes, cable is more expensive, but I can wire cable all through my house, while with a dish, I need extra equipment for each room, etc. All of this is, however, my preference and opinion.

DirecTv Cable Movies Music Fashion & Sports

Bwren said:

Very true, the pole needs to be in a three foot concrete filled hole, then filled with concrete. Then pointed to near perfection.

I have not had any problems with channels as you have mentioned. I have all my local channels and there isn't a channel I can't get on Dish. However, the channel fade issue not being existing with cable is false. That really depends on the quality of the cabling. Cabling underground not properly insulated will get water in it and have channel fade. In fact, poor lines can lead to a bunch of problems. When I had Comcast in my area, it went out at least twice a day due to old lines in the neighborhood.

Bwren, its obvious you have worked for a cable company. I ran cable for Sprint and was a trouble shooter for DirectTV. I didn't find much confidence in directTV and found that a bad mount will lead to long and short term bad service. But like I said that can be avoided. In fact, with all the rain storms we have had in the midwest lately, my Dish hasn't gone out once.